Clink
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 The sound of metal on metal, or glass on glass. onomatopoeic
"You could hear the clink of the glasses from the next room."
- 2 A prison. dated, slang
"If he keeps doing things like that, he’s sure to end up in the clink."
- 3 a correctional institution used to detain persons who are in the lawful custody of the government (either accused persons awaiting trial or convicted persons serving a sentence) wordnet
- 4 Stress cracks produced in metal ingots as they cool after being cast.
- 5 a short light metallic sound wordnet
- 1 To make a clinking sound; to make a sound of metal on metal or glass on glass; to strike materials such as metal or glass against one another. ambitransitive
"The hammers clinked on the stone all night."
- 2 To clinch; to rivet. Scotland, transitive
- 3 make or emit a high sound wordnet
- 4 To rhyme. dated, humorous
- 5 make a high sound typical of glass wordnet
- 1 A surname.
Example
More examples"She held out the wine glass expecting someone to clink it."
Etymology
From Middle English clinken, from Old English *clincan (compare clynnan, clynian (“to sound; resound”)), from Proto-Germanic *klinganą (“to sound”). Cognates include Middle Dutch klinken and German klingen. Related to cling (sound) and clang. May be further related to call. Perhaps of onomatopoeic origin, as metal against metal.
From the Clink prison in Southwark, London, itself presumably named after sound of doors being bolted or chains rattling.
Related phrases
More for "clink"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.